And Baby Makes Four
by AlabamaBound
Summary: The sequel to Bigger than the both of us. Again, I don't own these characters, and any resemblance between them and the real thing can only be contributed to my love for the show and the characters. Rated M purely for safety. Not sure it will be needed.
1. Chapter 1

Catherine smiles and says quietly to Nick, "I'm pregnant."

A simple statement that would change Nick and Catherine's lives forever. Nick was momentarily speechless. Catherine was afraid that he was upset. After all, they had never really talked about starting a family. He had always loved Lindsey as his own, so she looked at him and asked nervously, "Are you okay?"

Nick looked at her with what could only be described as loving eyes. He simply nods and this confuses and worries Catherine. She manages to croak out, "I didn't plan for this to happen. I know that we never really talked about having more children, but..."

Nick silences her with a kiss and finally manages to tell her, "I don't know what to say Cath. I never thought I'd be blessed so much. First I marry you and Lindsey becomes more like a daughter to me. Then you tell me I'm going to be a daddy again."

Nick reaches out a touches her stomach gently. Even though she isn't showing yet, Nick swears he can feel the baby there. He looks at her again and she sees the tears falling down his face. She hugs him tightly and whispers, "It's going to be a Christmas baby."

Nick laughs and asks, "Are you happy about this Cath?"

She nods and tells him, "I was shocked at first, now I couldn't be happier."

They kiss as the scene ends.

Later that night, Nick arrives for his shift. He opens his locker and smiles as he sees the picture of Catherine and Lindsey. He realizes how lucky he is to have them in his life. Greg and Warrick was into the locker room and Nick smiles and tells them, "Guess who's going to be a daddy?"

Warrick laughs and replies, "Grissom?"

Nick looks shocked for a second and finally tells them, "No man. Me! Catherine gave me the news this morning."

Greg and Warrick shake his hands and they both congratulate him. The rest of the shift goes on like normal. Finally it's time for Nick to go home. He and Catherine have the same days off, but since they are married now, they work different shifts. Today is their day off, so Nick has plans to take Catherine out for dinner. Lindsey is with Catherine's mom so they have the house all to themselves.

He get home and the house is quiet. He walks into the living room and sees Catherine laying on the couch with a pillow on her stomach and her eyes closed. He leans on the floor next to her and whispers softly to her, "Cath? Are you okay?"

She simply shakes her head and whispers weakly, "No. I've been sick all day."

Nick rubs her forehead gently and asks, "Do you want to go out to eat tonight?"

Catherine groans and shakes her head, "I can't eat anything. My stomach is too upset. I'm sorry."

Nick smiles as he stands up and picks Catherine up and carries her to the bedroom. He puts her in bed and covers her up and moves silently around the room. He walks out into the kitchen and gets a glass of ice water and a box of saltine crackers. He puts the water and the crackers on the bedside table beside Catherine. He smiles as he climbs into bed and tells Catherine, "If you need anything I'm here for you."

Catherine merely moans in reply. She is too weak to respond and falls asleep next to Nick.

She wakes up during the middle of the night. She has an incredible pain in her stomach. She saw Nick's arm draped around her waist. She took a deep breath and finally some of the pain subsided. She moved Nick's arm and walked to the bathroom. She gasped when she saw the incredible amount of blood. She screamed and Nick came running in an instant. He took one look at her and knew they had to get to the hospital. He bundled her up and carried her to the car.

Nick prayed the whole way to the hospital. They held hands all the way to the hospital. Once they arrived, Nick rushed her into the emergency room. The nurse saw the panic on his face and asked, "What's wrong sir?"

"My wife. She's pregnant. She's bleeding and..."

That was all the nurse needed to hear. She called for an intern and they rushed Catherine behind the emergency room doors. Nick stood there and watched the doors swing back and forth and finally all movement stopped. Nick remained rooted to that spot for the longest time. Worried about his wife and unborn child, he collapsed on the floor and let the tears fall for the longest time...


	2. Chapter 2

Nick looked up as the doctor came into the room. He saw the sad look on his face and knew that the worst had happened, but nothing prepared him for the words that came out of the doctors mouth.

"I'm sorry Mister Stokes. Your wife lost too much blood. There wasn't anything we could do."

"Can I talk to her?"

The doctor shook his head and said, "I'm afraid you don't understand. Your wife passed away a few minutes ago. The shock to her system was just too much. The blood loss was..."

Nick felt the blackness close in around him. He didn't hear another word that the doctor uttered. The next thing he remembered was waking up in a hospital bed. He looked towards the door and was shocked to see Catherine sitting there. She was in a wheelchair and had a concerned look on her face.

He smiled and whispered, "Are you okay Cath?"

Catherine smiled. It was so like Nicky to worry about her first. She nodded and said, "Are you okay?"

"I am now. I had the most terrible dream. I..."

Catherine smiled and said, "Tell me about it later. I need to get back to bed."

Nick smiled and closed his eyes....

Okay, parts of the story are going to fill in some of the blanks. Blanks that might not be important, but I think it's interesting to tell.

Catherine and Nick have decided that they are going to keep journals. The first one is Catherine's first journal entry. Nick's will follow soon. It's all about their thoughts and feelings.

I hope it makes sense and that you like it.....

_**Catherine's POV**_

_**Okay, so I told your daddy that I was going to start keeping a diary. I never thought he would actually agree to keep one too. Although, once you know him, you'll realize what kind of a man your daddy is. He is the man of my dreams. Anyway, he laughed when I first suggested that we should do this. I think I scared him a little. Because he kind of got this look on his face that was hard to read. I wasn't really mad, just surprised that he was willing to do it and I guess my surprise looked different to him than it was supposed to. **_

_**Anyway, I told Nicky that we should write about what our feelings are and what's happening. I guess the beginning is the best place to start. Let's see. I first suspected that I was carrying you when your daddy and I got married. I'd been feeling sick all day, but part of me thought that it was something I ate. **_

_**Soon afterwards though, I began to suspect that it was much more than food poisoning. So, about three weeks after you daddy and I got married, I decided to do a pregnancy test. It came back positive. I didn't tell your daddy at first though. I didn't want to get him excited if it turned out to be wrong. So, I made an appointment to see my doctor. **_

_**A few hours later, I walked out of the office stunned. I was most definitely pregnant. I wasn't upset, just worried. I wasn't sure how your dad was going to react. In all the time that we'd been dating, we'd never talked about having children. Oh, I knew that he'd be excited about you. He loves your sister. Has for a long time. **_

_**So, I told him that we were going out for dinner. We had a wonderful steak dinner and hurried home soon after. We were sitting on the couch and I looked at him nervously, smiled and told him, "I'm pregnant." **_

_**He looked at me. I swallowed hard and said nothing. Finally a big smile broke out on his face. He kissed me and put his hand on my stomach. I smiled and told him that you were going to be born around Christmas. Always the gentleman, he asked me if I was happy about you. I smiled and told him that I was very happy. He kissed me softly and I actually giggled. **_

_**Although, not everything was okay that night. I was still extremely sick. I curled up on the couch and stayed there all night. That's where your dad found me hours later. When he got home, he asked me if I wanted to go out, but I couldn't get the strength to get out of bed. So, he carried me to our bedroom and got me a glass of water and some crackers. **_

_**Later that night, I walked into the bathroom. There was so much blood that I knew immediately that something was wrong. Very, terribly wrong!! I called out to your dad and he came running. He took one look at me and knew what he had to do. He took me to the hospital. I don't remember much about the ride there. I know that your dad held my hand the whole way there. I cried silently the whole way there. I don't think Nicky knew about that. I didn't want to worry him any more than he already was. **_

_**Well, he carried me into the hospital and then the doctor's took over. I was very much awake as the doctor's checked me over. I knew it was bad and cried when I heard the words "Possible miscarriage." I knew then, that if we got out of this, I would do whatever the doctor's told me. It seemed like forever before they were finally able to stop the bleeding. God, I was so scared over those next few hours. **_

_**Finally the doctor came to talk to me. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, "I'm not going to lie to you Catherine. There is still a great chance that you could loose this baby. It's up to you now to make sure that doesn't happen." **_

_**I remember looking at him and saying, "Whatever it takes." **_

_**He nodded and said, "Complete bed rest for the next 4 weeks. The only time I want you out of bed is to use the bathroom." **_

_**I nodded and agreed with everything he told me. Then he told me that your dad collapsed and was hospitalized. I shook my head, not able to believe what they were telling me about your dad. It wasn't possible. Your dad is one of the strongest men I've ever known. But, given his love for me, I'm not surprised. It had to be quite the shock for your dad.**_

_**They did allow me to sit by his bedside for awhile. Finally after a few hours he opened his eyes. He had a bad dream and mumbled something about me being dead. **_

_**That's when I told him about the baby and what the doctor said. He nodded and said nothing. I smiled, but before we could talk anymore the doctor took me back to my room. **_

_**I tell you, I love your father, but he is annoying when he is trying to be helpful. He was like a mother hen. Standing over me all the time. Giving me thing, before I even asked for them. Finally I'd had enough and told him so. He tried to argue with me. I told him again that he was driving me crazy! Finally he agreed to be there. Just not so much. I laughed and he got into bed beside me and we both read until we fell asleep....**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Nick's Journal**

_**Ummm, where do I start. I'm still not sure about this whole journal thing. I've never been good at expressing my feelings. Let alone writing them down. But, I promised your mom that I would at least give it a try. I love her so...**_

_**So, she says that I should just write about how I feel. Or rather, about how I felt when she told me about you. **_

_**Let's see. At first I was scared. I mean, we'd just gotten married and were learning to live together as a couple. Then she told me that you were on the way. The fear lasted about thirty seconds. Your mom already has Lindsay. Oh, that's right, you don't know about Lindsay. Well, she's your big sister. She's great. Your really going to love her. She's going to be eighteen next month. She's really excited about you. She laughed when her mom told her that you were coming. She wanted to know why we waited so long. **_

_**I couldn't answer that. The only thing that we could say was that it took us that long to come to our senses. Oh, that's right. You don't know about our relationship. Well, it's sort of a long story. **_

_**See, we met when I moved to Las Vegas to take a job at the crime lab. Your mom had been working there for a year when I transferred in. I told her later that it was love at first sight. She said that she didn't believe in love at first sight. She said that it was fate. I laughed and told her that whatever it was, I wanted to thank it for bringing us together. **_

_**Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. Things were going great. Until the night that your mom started bleeding. I'd never been so scared in all of my life. **_

_**I was scared for you and scared for your mom. We were so happy and so excited about you. I didn't want to think of life without either one of you. **_

_**Then I had a bad dream. Thankfully it was only a dream. Anyway, your mom got out of the hopital and the doctor told her that she was on complete bed rest. **_

_**One thing you have to understand about your mom is this. She's a complete workaholic. She's always on the go. So, I knew that this was going to be a challenge. So, I tried to do everything that I could to make her more comfortable. Truthfully, I think I was annoying her more than anything else. **_

_**I know it was a relief when Sara and Sofia came to stay with her. She was almost anxious for me to go to work. **_

_**Well, this is enough for right now. I'm all written out. Don't tell your mom, but this was actually pretty fun. **_

Catherine watched Nick as he wrote in his journal. It was cute watching him concentrate so hard. She knew that he wasn't comfortable with this journal writing stuff, but he was giving it his best shot. It was just one of the many things that she loved about him.

Later that night, Catherine smiled when she heard voices downstairs. Soon, the voices moved upstairs and she smiled and said, "Hey Sara! What are you doing here?"

Sara laughed and said, "Well, we figured that you could use some relief from Nick."

Sofia nodded and said, "If he's anything like Greg was, then he's acting like a mother hen."

Catherine smiled at her friends. Sofia had married Greg last year. Their twins had been born almost nine months to the day after their wedding. Nick had great fun teasing Greg about that one.

Sara and Grissom were still working their way to the aisle. Sara was content with things the way they were.

Catherine smiled and said, "How are the twins doing?"

Sofia smiled and said, "Getting bigger everyday. They are getting to be more like their father everyday."

Catherine laughed and said, "I'm not sure if that's a blessing or a curse. As long as they don't start dressing up and dancing around the lab."

"I think it will be awhile before they do that. So, how crazy are you going?"

Catherine groaned and said, "I'm ready to pull my hair out. And it's only been a week. Truthfully, Nick is driving me insane. I know he's only trying to be helpful, but I wish he's let me relax."

Sara laughed and said, "I think it's sweet."

"Sweet lasts for about twenty minutes. Then he starts getting on my nerves. He hovers."

"Greg did that too. I loved it when he had to go to work. I love him, but he can be a bit overprotective."

Sara laughed and said, "You can tell how much you two love your husbands."

Sofia and Catherine both laughed and said, "You can?"

"Yeah. The looks you two have on your faces is one of pure adoration."

Sofia and Catherine laughed and shook their heads. It was true that they did love their husbands. Sometimes, the men drove them nuts, but truthfully neither of them would change it for anything in the world.

Catherine laughed and started to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of Greg and Grissom coming into the room. Catherine looked at her friends and asked, "Did you know that they were going to be here?"

Sofia laughed and said, "I had no idea. Greg, honey, what are you doing here?"

"Well, we thought it would be a good idea for all of us to keep Catherine company." He held up a box and Catherine laughed, "And playing trivial pursuit is always a great way to pass the time."

Sofia groaned. She should've known that her huband would bring THAT game here. He loved the game and no one ever beat him.

"Where are the kids?"

"Oh, Wendy and Hodges are watching them."

"Oh, okay."

Catherine laughed and watched her friends and their husbands. She realized how lucky they were. All of them. She was married to the love of her life and all of her friends were just as happy with the men they loved.

Catherine settled back in the bed. Sara brought her a drink and some snacks. Greg set up the gameboard on the floor and they all settled in for a wonderful game.....


	4. Chapter 4

Catherine smiled as she settled back and drifted off to sleep hours later. They'd had a wonderful time playing the game. Nick had come in during the middle of the game and smiled at his friends and wife. He was probably the only one that noticed how Catherine's smile lit up the room when he walked in.

Nick laughed and said, "What's this? Having a party without me?"

Greg laughed and said, "We're just trying to keep Catherine sane. Heaven knows that it's boring enough for her to be stuck with you."

Nick laughed and said, "I guess that's true. I have been acting like a mother hen."

"I would never do something like that. Sofia would kill me."

Sofia laughed and said, "I almost did kill you. If you remember correctly."

The others laughed and Grissom said, "I seem to remember you mumbling something about how Sofia was getting grumpier everyday."

Everyone laughed and it was then that Sofia noticed Catherine's yawn. Sofia smiled and said, "I think we should be going now. I'll call you Catherine."

"I had fun. Thanks for coming over. It helped pass the time tonight."

The others said goodbye and then Nick and Catherine were left alone in the room. Nick sat next to her in the bed and smiled. He kissed her softly and said, "It looks like you had fun tonight."

"I did. It was nice seeing everyone again. It's been awhile since I've seen Sofia."

"She and Greg make a perfect couple. She keeps him in line. Heaven knows that he needs it."

Catherine laughed and pulled Nick close for a kiss. Soon, they are snuggled close and Nick is soon fast asleep.

Catherine was still wide awake, so she decided to use the time to write in her journal.

_**Catherine's Journal**_

_**Your daddy and I have a love that's hard to believe. I'd been in love before, but never anything like this. When your old enough to read this, you'll hopefully understand what I'm talking about. **_

_**Your daddy is a wonderful man. He has a huge heart. He fights for the underdog. He says that he's always loved me and your sister. He's wonderful with children. That's why I know he's going to be a wonderful daddy. He's always been there for us. Even before we got married he was like a father to her. **_

_**How do I describe your sister? She's independent. Strong willed and she already loves you like crazy. She's going to the University of California next month. Your dad's driving her there next month. I wanted to go with them, but the doctor says that I need to stay in bed. So, Lindsay smiled and said that she has something special planned. I wonder what she's up to.**_

_**I guess the next thing I want to do is explain our friends to you. Let's see. I guess I'll start with Grissom. **_

_**Grissom has always been the leader of the pack. He's not much of a emotional man. He loves bugs and anything creepy and crawly. It's always grossed me out, but that's just the way he is. He's also a very intelligent man. He loves Sara a whole lot. I think that she wants to get married, but he's not ready yet. **_

_**Speaking of Sara. How do I explain her? She's strong and very independent. She fights for the underdog. She's a lot like your daddy. She has a big heart and sometimes lets it cloud her judgment. Especially when it comes to kids or women. That's something that you'll learn about her. **_

_**How do I explain Greg to you? Greg is like a big kid. He loves a good practical joke and everyone was surprised when he and Sofia announced that they were getting married. Although I probably could've guess it. She'd been hanging around the lab more and more in the months before the announcement. Greg is a joker. He loves dancing around the lab and having fun. The more the better. Although, Sofia grounds him. She brings a balance to him that, while it makes him more mature, it also makes him a better CSI. **_

_**Sofia's a bit harder to pin down. The one thing I do know about her is that she's a wonderful friend and a great mother to their kids. She likes to joke that she has three kids, but I know that she loves Greg with the same passion that I love your dad.**_

_**Your dad is a wonderful man. He's strong and incredibly handsome. His heart is big enough for the whole world. He can't wait until your born. Says that he doesn't care if your a boy or a girl. I know that's true. Although, I'd love to have a little boy that looks just like him. With his smile and hair. Either way, I'll be happy. As long as your healthy, that's all that matters to me. **_

_**Well, that's all for tonight. I love you little one. Stay safe. Were not ready to see you yet. You still have a lot of growing left to do. **_

Catherine drifted off to sleep and only woke the next morning when Nick kissed her softly on the neck. She whispered softly, "I love when you do that. I want to make love to you so badly Nicky."

Nick silenced her with a deep kiss. Soon, they were kissing passionately. Catherine felt like she was in Heaven. It always felt like this with Nick. Like everytime was the first time. Soon, despite everything that was going on around them, they were making love. Slowly and carefully. Nick had always been an amazing lover, but there was something about this time that made her heart expand and fill with such an incredible love for him.

Looking down at his wife, Nick knew, for the hundredth time, that he'd found the place that he belonged. He lowered his mouth to kiss her again and listened as she moaned softly. The sounds that he was able to draw out of her, always amazed him. She was such a passionate woman.

He entered he carefully. Part of him knew that he should stop. He was worried about hurting her or the baby, but thoughts about that were driven from his mind when she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him in deeper. He looked deep into her eyes and their gazes locked. It was as if he was able to see deep into her soul. He wished that he could lose himself in her.

They made love slowly. It seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes. Nick and Catherine came together at the same time. Both surrendering to the passion of the moment. Nick kissed her softly and whispered, "I love you Cath. So very much. I'm sorry we probably shouldn't have done that. Did I hurt the baby?"

Catherine had tears in her eyes and Nick got a worried a look in his eyes. She whispered softly, "I'm fine. We're fine."

She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. It was slightly rounded from the pregnancy, but unless someone knew that she was pregnant, no one would've known that a baby was growing inside her.

Nick looked deep in her eyes and said, "God Catherine, do you know how incredible this is?"

Catherine smiled and said, "No, tell me."

Nick swallowed hard and tried to find the words to explain how he felt. He positioned himself so that he was talking to her stomach. His hand stroked her stomach softly. It was such a simple gesture, but incredibly romantic. It made Catherine want him even more, but she sensed that this was something that Nick needed to tell her and well, she knew it was important.

"Your having my baby. Do you know how incredible that is to me?"

"I can. Because I know how it feels to be having your baby. I love you Nick Stokes."

"I love you Catherine Stokes."

They kissed and then Nick did something so incredibly sweet, that it brought tears to her eyes. He leaned over and kissed her softly, then he leaned over and whispered to her stomach and the baby growing inside, "I love you too little one. So very much. You and your mommy are the two most important things in the world to me. Oh and your sister too. You need to stay in there for a long, long time. That way, you can get bigger and get ready to say hello to everyone. I know all of our friends are looking forward to meeting you. I am too, but not too soon. We still have a lot to do to get ready for you. We still have to think up names and get your room all ready. So, we need lots of time. Your going to be the most loved baby ever."

Catherine couldn't speak. She was to overcome with emotion. She couldn't speak because the emotions were clogging her throat. She simply looked down at him and smiled softly. He gathered her in his arms and they fell asleep holding each other tightly......


End file.
